


The Journalist

by QueenoftheIvey



Category: South Park
Genre: F/M, South Park: The Fractured But Whole, super hero AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-11
Updated: 2018-07-18
Packaged: 2019-04-21 09:55:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14282412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenoftheIvey/pseuds/QueenoftheIvey
Summary: As a journalism student, the priority is to report the truth to the public. And to you, that means no matter the cost -much to the displeasure of a particular superhero.This au was inspired by tumblr user sarkastic's superhero au where the heroes identities are a secret, therefore Tweek is referred to as Wonder Storm and Craig is referred to as Super Dude. Beware swearing and violence in later chapters.This fic is also posted on my quotev under the same name.





	1. Chapter One

Explosions rocked the city, flames licking the inky black sky and the people of South Park _screamed_.

Your breaths came in short huffs as you weaved in and out of the people trying to push past you. You had to get closer, he would be there!

Finally, you emerged from the crowd and found yourself standing before the burning building. It was some older warehouse if your memory serves you right. A weird place for Professor Chaos to target, but whatever.

A noise off to your right had you lifting up your camera as a figure clad in yellow and red dashed past you, causing your (h/c) hair to whip wildly around your head. A grin crossed your lips. _Fastpass_.

The lanky brunette came to a stop a little ways away from you, examining the situation while the rest of the boys caught up. Your eyes immediately fell to Super Dude, a tall guy in a blue hoodie who probably wasn’t a whole lot older than you.

You heard the Coon screaming orders as Human Kite took to the air, the wind generated from him causing the heat from the fire to wash over you and you winced at the brutal heat.

The boys dashed around, trying to evacuate civilians and get the fire under control. Thunder rolled on the horizon, before a torrential downpour fell onto the building, consequently soaking some of Coon and Friends. You grinned and whirled to angle your camera to target the floating blond boy in blue. _Wonder Storm_.

The rest of the Freedom Pals followed along behind him and you pressed yourself against the wall to ensure that you were out of their way -and out of their sight. You knew if they saw you one of them would whisk you away and the scoop of the lifetime would be gone! Wrenched from your grasp!

You kept your camera trained on the working heroes who were focusing on containing and putting out the fire. At least that’s what they were doing until a blast of golden lightning shot down from the sky, almost striking Mysterion and Toolshed.

You were blinded for a moment and your ears rung after the loud _crack!_  from the lightning reverberated through the air. You could hear Super Dude snarling something at Wonder Storm, who shot out a reply vehemently.

Laughter from the sky had a shiver running down your spine as you pointed the camera up and a thin figure emerged from the smoking building. _Professor Chaos_.

Chaos’s laugh shook you to your core, but you couldn’t help the grin that formed. How lucky could you be?! A college journalism student was getting the video of a lifetime!

Everyone from the Associated Press to BBC would be calling you and begging you for this video!

It’s every journalism students wet dream.

You felt the hair on your arms stand on end as another bolt of lightning rained from Chaos’s hands, sending the heroes scrambling for safety.

You were grinning as they battled. Chaos may be only one guy but he could definitely hold his own against these guys!

A yelp was ripped from your throat when a stray bolt of lightning struck the building on your left, bricks and debris flying around you. You curled around the camera, desperate to protect the footage you were risking your life for.

Your yelp went largely unnoticed, the heroes all too preoccupied on Chaos, but Super Dude’s head whipped around to look at you and his eyes went wide and his lips pulled down in a frown, that honestly seemed oddly familiar.

You winced and tried to raise your camera back up before a heavy force knocked you back onto the ground. You barely managed to cling to the camera and save it from crashing into the ground.

Super Dude leaned over you, golden eyes shining with annoyance. Though you swore there was concern in them. Why were those eyes so familiar?

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Super Dudes voice was obviously supposed to come out monotonous, but there was anger laced into it. And concern?

You couldn’t help but shrink away from him, holding your camera tighter. If he knew you were recording him would he break it? Would he send you away? Just when the fight was getting good?

Another bolt of lightning struck not far from the two of you and you screamed. Super Dude ducked down, shielding you from the concrete flying through the air. Somewhere behind him, Chaos laughed.

Super Dude grunted, and you looked back into his eyes which were staring down intently into your own (e/c) ones. “You shouldn’t be here (Y/N).” He muttered though he winced the second your name escaped his lips.

Something clicked and you gently reached up to pull off his hood, revealing familiar, messy black hair. “Craig?”

Craig Tucker. Your biology partner from freshman year. Your _friend_ looked down at you.

“Fuck me.” He muttered before yanking his hood back up and hauling the both of you up and off the ground.

“Get out of here, (Y/N).” He snapped, anger evident in his tone. “ _Now_.”

You looked at him, stunned before shaking your head and glaring right back at him. “No! Fuck you! What the fuck are you-"

“And who is this, Super Dude?”

Craig whirled around to see General Disarray standing behind the two of you, smirking maliciously as the fire burned behind him, making him seem to glow red.

Craig muttered a curse before whirling on you. “Fucking run!”

You didn’t think twice, the camera tight in your grip, you whirled and dashed straight out of the alley as Super Dude threw a punch at Disarray.

“After her, Chaos Minions!” You heard Disarray shriek as he dodged another attack from Super Dude.

There were footsteps behind you as you bolted down the dark streets, your breath coming quickly. You could hear the Chaos Minions yelling at you as they chased you, not far behind.

You had almost lost hope when you felt two arms wrap around your middle and you were lifted into the air.

You screamed and the camera fell from your hands, smashing onto the concrete several feet below.

“Hang on!” _Human Kite_.

~*~

You paced around your apartment in a panic.

After Kite had dropped you off behind police lines you had been forced to return home by police.

The news played on the TV on the wall as you paced around the small apartment.

“Professor Chaos seems to have escaped custody, and the two groups of superheroes the Freedom Pals and Coon and Friends dispersed not long after Chaos disappeared.” The anchor continued to drone on about the fire and that there were no casualties. But you didn’t care about that.

Craig Tucker was Super Dude.

That fucker was a fucking _superhero_.

And he had just saved your life.

Just after that thought, the door to your apartment was thrown open and you jumped, whirling around to see Craig stalking angrily into your apartment. The door slammed behind him and the wall _shook_.

Craig threw his hood down and ripped off his mask as he stalked towards you. You stood tall, opening your mouth to defend yourself, but before you got the chance Craig's hands slid up your neck, tilting your head back and kissing you deeply.

You froze, stunned as your friend of three yours kissed you. You sensed the anger and annoyance, but behind that front, there was worry in his kiss, a desperation to know you were safe.

Finally, he pulled away from you as you stared into his shimmering golden eyes with wide (e/c) ones. His forehead rested against yours as he stared down at you, memorizing every inch of your face like it was the last time he’d ever see it.

There was silence between the two of you for several moments.

“What the fuck were you doing out there?” His voice was a harsh whisper as he stared you down.

You searched for an answer before you meekly managed to mutter “Journalism?”

His scowl returned full force. “You aren’t a journalist.”

“Anyone can be a journalist.” You responded without missing a beat. Craig sighed, releasing you and raking a pale hand through his dark, tousled hair.

“Just because you’re almost a journalist doesn’t mean you are one, you fucking dumbass.” He snapped. “You’re a junior in college, which means you shouldn’t be running around in the middle of a fight between super freaks!”

You glared, lips pulling down in a snarl. “You don’t own me, Craig Tucker. And you don’t have _any_ right to tell me I can’t run around in the middle of a fight between you and Chaos!”

“Yes, I can!” He barked, all of his usual cool thrown straight out the window. “And you know why? Because I have fucking freak powers! What do you have? A fucking camera!”

“And?” You quipped. “It’s my job to report what’s happening! I had every right to be there recording!”

“No, you didn’t, you fucking idiot!” Craig's hands found your shoulders and he squeezed them shaking you. He sounded desperate for you to listen to him as he looked down at you, there was fear in his expression now. “Now Chaos knows you exist! He’ll be after you! You could have died out there!”

You were still as he looked at you, and you met his gaze unwaveringly. “I’m not afraid of Chaos.”

Craig released you, his shoulders sagging as he took a step back from you, dragging his hand down his face in exasperation. “That’s because you’re an idiot.”

“No.” You replied as you stepped forward, gently grabbing his wrist, his gaze snapping to you from between his fingers. “I’m not afraid because I know I have someone protecting me now.”

There was silence for several moments before Craig huffed and yanked you into a tight hug, burying his face in your (h/c) hair and breathing deeply. “I’ve always been protecting you, stupid.”

You smiled, allowing your arms to slip around his torso as you held him close. The two of you stayed like that for several long, quiet moments, just drinking in the knowledge that you were both all right.

You grinned and peeked up to look at him. “So now that I know you’re Super Dude…” Craig raised an eyebrow. “Think I can get an interview?”

“No.”


	2. Chapter Two

It had been two weeks since you’d discovered your best friend, Craig Tucker, was the infamous superhero Super Dude.

It had also been two weeks since you’d started dating your best friend, Craig Tucker, the infamous superhero Super Dude.

You wanted to say that these past two weeks had been incredible, the best of your life. What girl doesn’t dream of having a superhero as their boyfriend? And honestly, you were excited, you were flattered that the Craig Tucker, the most emotionless boy you’d ever met, had fallen head over heels for you.

But as cool as it was, you discovered that Craig was insanely paranoid.

The first night the two of you had gone on a date, the night after you’d discovered his second identity, he had spent most of the night with an arm wrapped around you and looking over his shoulder.

Craig claimed it was because he was worried Chaos Minions would be on your trail after that fateful night that you had seen the fight between Coon and Friends, Freedom Pals, and Professor Chaos. You had lost count of all the times you’d tried reassuring him that the probability that the Chaos Minions would be after you, let alone  _ recognize _ you was extremely low.

He wasn’t very assured.

But despite all that, you had discovered that Craig definitely wasn’t as emotionless as he’d seemed and he made it very obvious how much he cared for you.

Between classes Craig would you treat you to lunch or walk you to and from classes. And after the end of the day, he was always more than happy to take you home -that’s when he really showed you just how much he cared.

He’d also proved useful for your role on the school paper, giving you little hints on possible places to track down heroes or opportunities to -safely- catch them in action.

After your first article about how you had gotten caught in the middle of a superhero firefight had gone in the paper, copies had started flying off the shelves! Though, sadly, the camera and your footage from that night had been lost. The camera was, conveniently, destroyed.

Craig, of course, denied any involvement in the destruction of your camera but had been gracious enough to offer to help pay for a new one. He’d also said that that would constitute your birthday, Christmas, and anniversary presents, though he’d been smirking when he said it and could probably be easily bribed with a little gentle  _ persuasion. _

Currently, you were sitting in the journalism computer lab, staring blankly at the footage you were supposed to be editing for your broadcast class. Craig had been lazily reclining in one of the chairs next to you, his feet propped up on the desk and every so often poking at one of your hands as he played on his phone.

You groaned loudly and slumped in your seat, glaring at the screen in front of you.

“Keep glaring, it’ll eventually submit to your terrifying looks,” Craig said flatly, but when you glared at him out of the corner of your eye he had a tiny grin on his lips.

You flipped him off in response, and without even looking at him you knew that he had returned the favor.

Silence passed for a few more minutes before Craig's phone buzzed loudly and he sighed in annoyance.

“Your side-hoe calling?” You asked, eyes still on the computer. Craig's long legs fell off the desk and you heard him stand, stretching.

“If only.” He grinned, leaning down to place a kiss on your forehead before he leaned down to your ear and whispered. “Be at Tweek Bros before nine, you may just get your next scoop.”

With that, Craig straightened and left, leaving you grinning in excitement and blushing slightly from the close contact. It was 8:30 now if you left you’d make it to Tweek Bros with plenty of time to spare!

You hopped up out of your chair, saving your project and turning off the computer before yanking out your flash drive. You threw the small drive in your backpack and hurried out of the building, flicking out the lab lights as you left.

You hadn’t driven from your apartment this morning, and honestly, Tweek Bros wasn’t super far from the South Park University campus so the walk wasn’t too terrible. All around you college students and other civilians dashed across the sidewalks and cars roared down the road, even after the sun had dipped down below the horizon and the moon had begun its nightly ascent. South Park maybe a small town, but it certainly was a lively little place.

Craig had once told you that before the SPU arrived, South Park had just been a tiny, hick, mountain town. Though now, he joked, it was a tiny,  _ educated _ hick, mountain town. 

When you arrived at Tweek Bros it was a quarter till nine, plenty of time for a drink. Stepping into Tweek Bros Coffee Shop was like getting a hug from your favorite person that happened to smell like coffee. The small building was warm and inviting and smelled better than any Starbucks. It was cheaper too, so that was always a bonus.

The twitchy blond at the counter smiled kindly at you as you approached the counter. Tweek Tweak was a precious boy who you had repeatedly claimed as your child and swore your life to protect. Craig liked to make fun of you for it.

“Hey, Tweekling.” You greeted and the blond boy groaned. “The usual, please!”

“D-do you have t-to call me t-that in p-public?” He whined and you giggled, leaning across the counter to ruffle his hair -which was mildly difficult seeing as he was quite a bit taller than you.

“Yep!”

With a sigh and an eye roll, Tweek set about to making your coffee. You waited patiently out of the way of other patrons who slowly filtered in and out of the shop.

Tweek smiled kindly as he handed you your coffee, grabbing your hand when you started to reach for your wallet. “O-on the house, for the girlfriend of my best friend.”

You felt a blush start to creep up your neck and you smiled bashfully. “Tweek, you’re too kind, please let me pay for it.”

Tweek shook his head, grinning. “Nope!”

Before you could force the money in his hand or down his shirt he flounced off to help another customer and you resigned yourself to leave a nice bit of cash in the tip jar before you stepped back outside into the cool night air.

There was a bench just outside of the coffee shop that you settled on, your phone ready to record and a notepad in case you caught any good quotes from the heroes you were going to follow.

A few more minutes passed before a shadow on a roof caught your eye, your gaze darting to the roof to see a large guy hurrying across the rooftops.  _ Coon. _

You grinned and stood, looking around to check for witnesses before ducking into an alleyway nearby.

The Coon was leaning on top of a roof across from you, still in sight but very obviously trying to stay somewhat hidden

A shift behind you had you spinning around, yanking out your pepper spray but you froze when you saw your boyfriend standing there in his get up, which was fairly simple when compared to some of his teammates. 

He grinned and raised his hands in mock surrender. “Oh no, pepper spray, my one weakness!”

You rolled your eyes and put the spray back in your bag. “Shut up, Super Dick.”

Craigs grinned widened marginally as he stalked up to you, gently grabbing your waist and pulling you flush against him while he leaned down and nipped at your ear. “If all goes well and you stay out of trouble you may get this Super Dick tonight.”

A hot blush race up from your neck to your cheeks and ended at the tips of your ears as you opened your mouth to sputter out a reply.

Craig chuckled quietly before placing a kiss on your forehead, meeting your (e/c) with his golden ones. “Stay safe, I’ll meet you at your place after the fight.”

Then he was gone, and you were left standing there in an alley looking like a blushing mess.

You felt slightly dizzy as you turned back around to watch several men slink out of the shadows, all beady-eyed and crazy looking. Chaos Minions.

You pressed yourself closer to the wall as you raised your phone, keeping yourself protectively hidden from sight but still able to see the action.

The air was tense as you watched the Chaos Minions skulk about. The Coon was the first to strike, diving down from the roof across from you with a battlecry and knocking one of the minions to the ground. The rest of Coon and Friends followed right behind him.

You swiveled to catch the Human Kite diving down like a missile and catching one of the minions by surprise, knocking him out with a quick punch.

Mosquito flitted through the battle, buzzing and grinning as blood sprayed into the air while Fastpass weaved between enemies, knocking them out one by one.

Then there was Super Dude, surrounded by several enemies that he fought off easily all while wearing a bored expression. You couldn’t help but train your camera on him several times throughout the fight.

You could see his eyes flash to you every once in a while, and if an enemy ever got a little too close for comfort he would be the first person there to knock them out of the way. He was honestly incredible.

You didn’t even hear the footsteps behind you until you felt the hand wrap around your mouth and a firm arm wrapped around your waist.

Panic flooded through your system and you struggled, but the Chaos Minion held firm. “The boss said to be on the lookout for you.”

You were  _ terrified _ , Craig was right they had been looking for you, and now you couldn’t even reach into your bag for your pepper spray or call for help. So you did the first thing that came to mind.

You sank your teeth into the palm of the minion's hand, and the coppery taste of blood exploded in your mouth. The Chaos Minion howled in pain as he yanked his hand away from your teeth and you managed to squirm out of his grasp.

You immediately bolted, panicking when the minion's hand grabbed at your backpack. You let the bag slip off your shoulders and you scrambled out of the alley and raced down the pavement.

You weren’t sure how long you had run, but when you arrived back at SPU campus you noticed there weren’t any footsteps behind you and the air was still. You hurried into the first building you could find that was unlocked, which happened to be the arts and humanities building.

You found an empty classroom and sunk against the door, your adrenaline leaving you. Your legs were aching and you were gulping in huge breaths of air as you shook from the encounter.

You sat in silence for several minutes, trying to process what exactly had just happened.

You nearly jumped three feet in the air when your phone started ringing. You’d honestly forgotten you were holding it as you hit the green answer button.

“H-Hello?”

“(Y/N)?!” A panicked sounding Craig asked. “Where are you? The fight’s over and I found your backpack but I couldn’t find you! What happened? Are you okay?”

“Craig.” You whispered and he fell silent.”I-I’m okay, I’ll tell you what happened when we get back to my apartment but can you come get me, please?”

“Of course, where are you?” He asked gently, sounding more worried than ever.

You rattled off the name of the building and the classroom number you were in before you hung up.

You pulled your knees to your chest and rested your forehead against them while you waited, still trying to keep yourself calm and sort through what had happened that evening.

After a while, you heard hurried footsteps in the hall and you tensed when they came to a stop outside the classroom you were in. A knock sounded on the door.

“(Y/N)? You in there?” Craig.

You stood slowly and pulled open the door to meet the worried golden eyes of your boyfriend who pulled you to his chest the moment you came into view. Your arms snaked around his torso and you clutched to him like a lifeline, shaking.

Craig murmured soothing words into your hair as he held you close, gently rubbing circles in the small of your back and pressing kisses into the top of your head. All you really managed to catch was that he was so worried and that he wouldn’t know what to do if he’d lost you.

Once you had calmed down enough, Craig walked you to his car that he had haphazardly parked in front of the building. You almost felt like lecturing him about how he should be more careful, but you didn’t think you had the energy.

The car ride was quiet and most of the elevator ride up to your apartment was too. When you finally made it into your apartment Craig held you while you sputtered out what had happened.

Craig scowled darkly after that, before yanking you into a bruising kiss that left you gasping for air. His eyes were like liquid gold, all shining and glinting with anger.

“If I ever find that Chaos Minion I’ll kill him for even laying a finger on you.” He hissed, his voice dripping with anger. “I don’t care if I have to hunt every single one of them down myself. He will pay for trying to take you.”

You shuddered at that. Craig was honestly terrifying sometimes but his gaze softened as he looked down at you. 

“I will never let them hurt you, you know?” His voice was soft and kind, one of his hands gently stroked your hair. “No matter what I will always be there to protect you.”

You took a shuddering breath as you looked up at him, (e/c) eyes meeting gold. “I know.”

 

~*~

 

When morning came Craig forced you to turn off your alarm and skip your morning classes with him. You had objected, but he had offered an argument you just couldn’t refuse.

After his convincing, he made you breakfast and sat with you while you watched the news. You honestly felt like an old married couple.

When noon finally rolled around you had to force yourself out of the bed and Craig’s arms. He had objected, but you had to go to this class. You had a project worth 30% of your grade due in two weeks and needed all the time to work on it that you could.

Craig finally relented but only if you let him take you to the building and bring you back when you were done, which you agreed to.

When Craig finally dropped you off in front of the journalism building you made a beeline for the computer lab your class was in. Though you were surprised to find you were the first person to arrive. You shrugged it off and flopped into your usual computer near the back of the room, rooting around in your backpack for your flash drive when you noticed that it had disappeared from the keychain you normally kept it on.

A deep sense of dread settled in your stomach as your eyebrows knitted together while you dug through your backpack. Where was your flash drive? It had all of your projects on it!

You were ready to panic when someone cleared their voice behind you, startling you enough that you almost fell out of your chair and you whirled around to come face-to-face with a boy.

The guy was thin and kind of short, a little bit taller than you, with blonde hair that was shaved on the sides and big, innocent blue eyes. He was kind of adorable.

“S-Sorry to scare you, m-miss.” He said sweetly.

Strike your previous statement, he was  _ very _ adorable. You smiled at him.

“No worries. What’s up? Are you looking for someone? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in this building before.”

Something dark flashed in his eyes, but it was gone before you could figure it out as he smiled gently and pulled out a (f/c) flash drive from his pocket. “(Y/N) (Y/L/N), right? I found this on my way to class this morning.”

You jumped up, snatching the small metal device from his hands. “Oh my God, you just saved my ass! Thank you so much… uh…”

The blonde boy smiled. “Call me Butters.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello, I am alive! I'm so sorry I forgot to update this, tbh I kinda forgot I put it on AO3 but I hope you guys enjoy!

Since the attack from the Chaos Minion, Craig had been even more protective of you. He escorted you between almost all of your classes and on dates he made sure to have you in his line of sight at all times.

Honestly, you weren’t sure if it made you feel safer or more scared. If Craig was this on edge then you should be too, right? He wouldn’t be worried if he didn’t think there would be another attack on you.

Craig had warned you that you had to be more careful, and was even trying to teach you how to fight. Key word: trying. It was kind of hard for the two of you to stay focused when he was giving you lessons.

You were knocked from your thoughts when someone tapped you on your shoulder. You glanced up and smiled as your (e/c) met the kind blue eyes of your new friend.

Butters Stotch, was a junior nursing major, who you owed your entire college life to since he found your thought-to-be-long-fucking-gone flash drive that held all of your projects for your classes.

Butters was super sweet, even though you were pretty sure Craig wasn’t a big fan of him. Probably because he talked so much.

Butters was talking, you caught something about lunch in the student center and you smiled. “Of course! I’ll have to text Craig and let him know to meet us there instead of the cafeteria.”

Butters’ smile faltered minutely and something flashed in his eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared and he was as happy as ever.

“Good plan! Wouldn’t want to worry him, would we?”

You smiled and stood from your chair, slinging your backpack over your shoulder and shooting Craig a quick text. Butters smiled and led you to the student center and talked about basically anything and everything.

When the two of you arrived at the student center, Craig was standing near the door and as soon as he saw you he latched on. His arm wrapping around your waist and pulling you close as he placed a kiss on the top of your head.

“How was class, honey?” He asked, his face as emotionless as ever but his eyes were soft and caring.

You smiled. “It was great, I made an ‘A’ on my test that I took Monday.”

The ghost of a smile played on his lips and his hand wrapped around you gently squeezed your hip. “Awesome, looks like all that studying is paying off.”

“Gee that’s great (Y/N)! I wish I was a smart as you.” Butters giggled, smiling kindly.

Craig looked up when Butters started talking and his expression soured. You frowned up at him before turning to smile at Butters.

“You’re too kind, Butters, my class is just really easy.” You said as the three of you walked into the tall white building. “Besides, you’re a nursing student! You’re probably way smarter than me.”

Butters blushed at that and smiled bashfully. “Aw, well shucks, (Y/N).”

You smiled and ruffled Butters hair and Craig's arm tightened around your waist.

Butters broke off to go buy his lunch as you and Craig headed towards the small burger restaurant in the food court. Craig just grabbed up a regular burger and some chips while you grabbed some fries.

Butters was still in line for his sandwich when you and Craig paid and found a table tucked away by the window. Craig was quiet and stared down at the plastic table as he ate.

“Craig?” You asked, frowning. “What’s wrong? You’re acting weird.”

Craig shrugged and muttered, “I’m fine.”

Your frown deepened as you gently took his hand in yours, threading your fingers through his. “Craig, you know you can talk to me.”

Craig was silent for several moments before he sighed. “I don’t know, something about him is….off.”

You raised an eyebrow. “You mean Butters?”

He nodded quietly and your frown softened as you brought Craigs hand to your lips and kissed it. “Take it easy, babe. Butters is just my friend, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Craig seemed mildly pleased but still on edge. “I just don’t know about him.”

“Just play nice, okay?” You asked, squeezing his hand and looking up as Butters walked over and sat in the chair across from you.

You and Butters talked idly while Craig sat in stony silence as the three of you ate. It was kind of awkward, and you found it hard to focus on what Butters was talking about, but Butters didn’t seem particularly bothered by it.

“What was it like?” Butters asked suddenly, and you looked up from your food to see him staring at you.

“Sorry, what was what like?” You asked.

“Seeing the Freedom Pals and Coon Friends fight Professor Chaos?” He asked, leaning forward slightly. “I read your article a few weeks ago and it sounds so cool! You’ve gotta tell me about it!”

You felt yourself blush a tiny bit. “It was interesting, albeit a little terrifying.” You answered honestly. “I was an idiot for charging into that battle for some video, if it wasn’t for Super Dude who knows what would have happened.”

Craig seemed pleased with that answer and the arm he wasn’t using to eat slung around the back of your chair.

Butters’s eyes shifted to Craig for a moment before returning to you. “Right, General Disarray sent people after you didn’t he?”

You nodded. “Yeah, they almost caught me too. If Human Kite hadn’t have grabbed me they might have gotten me.” You sighed. “It was a shame that my camera didn’t survive though.”

Craig shrugged, trying to seem indifferent as he tried to conceal the smirk on his lips. “It’s probably for the best that it was destroyed. Teach you not to run into a fight between super freaks.”

Butters frowned at that but kept his eyes on you. “What was Professor Chaos like?”

You shuddered a bit, remembering his chilling laugh as he emerged from the burning remnants of the warehouse. “He was actually scarier than I thought he’d be. I was surprised that he could hold his own against both Coon and Friends and the Freedom Pals.”

Butters nodded, absentmindedly rubbing his knuckles together. “Golly, I wouldn’t want to cross paths with him or any of his minions.”

You tensed at the mention of the Chaos Minions and Craig's arm around your shoulders tightened. Butters immediately noticed.

“Is everything okay? Did something happen?” He asked, sounding genuinely concerned. You hesitated for a moment, just long enough for Craig to jump in.

“Nothing, the Chaos Minions just freak her out.” He said, and edge to his tone. “That’s all.”

Butters looked like he wanted to continue that conversation but looked down when his phone went off and he frowned. “Oh hamburgers.”

Butters stood, gathering all of his things. “Sorry guys, my friend Dougie needs help with his biology homework.” He smiled sheepishly at you. “I’ll see you later, (Y/N).”

With that final acknowledgement he hurried out of the student center. Once he was gone you could feel Craig relax and he gently rubbed your arm.

“How about we take off the rest of the day?”

Honestly, that sounded like the best idea.

~*~

That night was Craig's designated night to patrol, though he was more than a little reluctant to leave you.

“Craig, honey, you have to do this or else they’ll know something’s up.” You reasoned, gently placing his mask in his hoodie pocket and adjusting the gloves that he had thrown on while he complained.

Honestly, he was such a child sometimes.

“Kite owes me, I could have him take over for tonight.” He said, grabbing your wrist and pulling you to him and peppering kisses on your face.

You giggled but gently pushed on his chest. “Oh no, this is your job tonight and you are not getting out of it!”

Craig sighed loudly in fake exasperation. “But mooooooom.” He droned, grinning.

You laughed and pulled him into a kiss, your lips slanting over his as his arms locked around your waist.

You broke the kiss hesitantly and fiddled with his hoodie strings. “Come back safe tonight and you’ll have more kisses waiting for you.”

He grinned and leaned down to catch your lips again, this time leaving you panting when he pulled back. “Hopefully it’s more than just kisses waiting for me.” He teased, winking.

You grinned and pulled back from him, immediately missing the warmth of his body. “We’ll see, but you have to go.”

He rolled his eyes, grinning and placing a kiss on your forehead before heading to the door. “Fine. I’ll be back later, be careful (Y/N).”

You smiled and rolled your eyes as the door finally shut behind him, and you flopped down on your couch.

Today had been long and tiring and you had so much homework to get done. You groaned loudly, throwing your legs over the arm of the couch and kicking your feet absently.

You stayed like that for a little while, just staring at the ceiling and thinking though you were started by a sudden knock at the door.

You froze before silently standing from the couch and carefully making your way to the door. Another knock and you peeked through the peephole to see a boy your age in a red Pizza Hut uniform.

You blinked in confusion and opened the door. “Hi, sorry, I think you might have the wrong apartment, I didn’t order any pizza.”

The boy looked confused before looking down at the receipt in his hand. “Uh… (Y/N) (Y/L/N) in room 614?’

You blinked. “Yeah, that’s me. Do you happen to know who sent it?”

The boy blinked and looked back down at the paper. “Special request said it’s from some guy named Tucker.”

A smile broke onto your lips and you opened the door a bit wider. “Oh, okay, sorry I didn’t know he ordered anything.”

The boy smiled. “Hey, no worries! I just need you to sign this, please.” He extended the paper out to you and you took it kindly.

“Let me go grab a pen.” You said, turning and heading into the kitchen, opening the junk drawer to search.

You didn’t hear the boy come up behind you but you definitely felt the needle in your arm.

You screamed, more in shock than in pain, as you spun and threw a punch at the boy who was grinning. A wave of dizziness crashed over you and your whole world blinked in and out of darkness.

You felt your legs give out and you crashed to the floor, panting as you fought to stay awake while the room spun.

The boy laughed maliciously above you, grabbing your chin and forcing you to look at him. “Professor Chaos is expecting you.”

He dropped your chin and blackness consumed your vision


	4. Chapter 4

When the night was almost over and the sun was slowly starting to peak over the horizon, Super Dude slunk into a small alley not far from your apartment and dug out the hidden backpack that held his civilian clothes -which was basically just a dark blue hoodie without the big red ‘S’ on the chest and his favorite hat.

Shoving the Super Dude hoodie and mask in the bag Craig sighed tiredly, the night had been long and ultimately uneventful. There had been a couple of attempted break-ins or carjackings, but nothing overly interesting.

Usually, Craig was fine with that, he liked his life nice and boring, but tonight it wasn’t helpful. With (Y/N) at home alone, he needed nothing more than something to keep his mind off of the worry of leaving her completely alone for the first time in days.

Craig slung the backpack over his shoulder and stalked out of the alley towards your apartment a few blocks away. Now that he was officially out of costume and the evening was over, his worry for you had started gnawing at him further.

Chaos was crazy, and if he had any idea that she might know Super Dude he would use that to his advantage. And, judging from the attack by the Chaos Minion a few days ago, it was highly likely that that’s exactly what Chaos expected.

Craig groaned as he forced open the door to the apartment building lobby, barely sparing a glance at the sleeping desk guard before taking an elevator up to the sixth floor.

Craig was about to push open the door to his your apartment when he froze, hand hovering above the doorknob. The door was ajar, just barely but it was.

A deep sense of dread settled in his stomach that he tried to shake off. Maybe you’d just forgotten to lock it before you went to bed last night? The door did have issues closing occasionally.

Craig pushed open the door, a little relieved to see that the living room was in order. Your backpack was by the couch and papers were scattered on the coffee table. Though you were still nowhere in sight, and that dread wasn’t gone.

Craig dropped his backpack on the floor next to the door and kicked it closed behind him. You were probably just asleep.

_But she always comes to greet me when I get back._ A frown pulled at his lips as he stalked through the apartment, knocking on the slightly closed bedroom door. “(Y/N)?”

Silence.

The pit in Craig's stomach dropped and he shoved the door open, the color draining out of his face when he discovered you weren’t there. But something else was.

On the white walls of the apartment, in large black spray paint was a message.

Craig scowled deeply and hurried back to his backpack, snatching a small, nondescript phone out of one of the pockets. He dialled the first number and paced back to your room, staring at the letters.

“What the fuck do you want, Super Dude, it’s five in the god-”

“We have a fucking problem.” Craig hissed, cutting Coon off from his rant. “Get everyone to the Coon Lair.”

“Why the fuck do I have to-”

“Fucking do it, Coon!” Craig snapped venomously, stunning Coon into silence as Craig snapped the phone shut and, accidentally, crushing it in his vice-like grip.

Rage shook Craig's body as he threw the phone away from him in disgust, staring back at the black message scrawled across your room.

_Chaos sends his regards.  
_  
~*~

 

You don’t know how long you had been out when you woke up, arm aching.

You sat up and blinked slowly, trying to figure out just where the hell you were.

It was a large, barren room with frigid concrete floors and walls. There was a decent coating of dust on the ground. You were tucked away in the back of the room, bound to an old white radiator that poked out from the wall.

You frowned, pulling at your bonds experimentally and winced as the rope dug deeper into your wrists.

The place was deafeningly silent, and it was honestly something straight out of a horror movie. You were terrified to even breathe.

The silence lasted for a while, and you continued to try to loosen the ropes on your wrists. Then you heard the footsteps.

They were faint at first, far away and you honestly thought you were imagining them. But they didn’t stop and they kept getting louder.

Fear bubbled in your stomach and you struggled more, desperate to escape before whoever was out there found you. The footsteps were an ever present reminder of how little time you had as they got louder and louder.

Blood rushed in your ears as you whimpered in pain, blood running down your wrists from your struggling. You rested your forehead against the radiator in resignation. Whatever you had been drugged with was still lingering in your system, and made it almost impossible to dredge up any strength you had.

_I’m so sorry, Craig_ , you thought as the door across from you was thrown open.

“Oh good, you’re awake!” Your head shot up to meet a familiar blue eye, the other hidden behind a black eyepatch, and blonde hair hidden under a metal hat.

“Butters?” You whispered, and the boy grinned.

You winced as he stalked over to you, leaning down and taking your chin in his pale fingers.

There was a manic grin on his face as he looked down at you.

“That’s Professor Chaos to you, (Y/N).”


	5. Chapter 5

Craig, back in his Super Dude outfit, paced restlessly around the Coon Lair, the currently assembled members of Coon and Friends watching him warily. They’d never seen Super Dude show this much emotion, and Coon was still sulking from when Craig had snapped at him on the phone.

“Dude,” The Human Kite spoke up, standing from the table and gently catching Craigs shoulder. “Pacing won’t make Fastpass and Mosquito get here any faster, why don’t you just sit down and try to calm down so you can tell us what’s going on?”

Craig scowled darkly at the red-headed hero, causing the shorter boys grip to falter and Craig tore out of his grip to continue pacing.

Kite sighed and sunk back into his seat at the table as silence enveloped the three men while they waited for the rest of the group.

After a few minutes passed, Mosquito and Fastpass finally arrived, both looking rather concerned once they noticed Super Dude’s terrifying mood.

Once they all settled at the table Craig finally walked over, throwing a picture of (Y/N) down on the table.

“Do any of you know this girl?” He asked, sliding the picture to the middle of the table. The other four boys leaned forward all trying to get a look at the photo.

Mosquito whistled lowly. “No, but I wish I did.”

Craig resisted the urge to punch the bug hero.

Kite spoke next. “Wait, she was that reporter at our fight with Chaos a few weeks back.”

Craig nodded, snatching one of the iPads that Coon had laying around and pulling up her Facebook page.

“Her name is (Y/N) (Y/L/N), she’s (age) and a journalism student at South Park University.” He recited, sliding the iPad full of information towards the other heroes.

“Okay, and why is she important to us?” Kite asked.

Coon snickered. “Super Dude’s got a crush~”

Craig looked blankly at the Coon. “Shut the fuck up, fatass.”

The Coon bristled, his cheeks heating up in anger and he opened his mouth to start screaming but Kite cut him off. “What happened, Super Dude? This girl is obviously important.”

Craig hesitated for only a moment before he met the eyes of every single other hero at that table. “She’s been captured by Professor Chaos.”

Silence fell for a moment as the statement sunk in. Kite was reeling, Mosquito looked stunned, Coon looked like he didn’t give a shit, and Fastpass was frowning.

“Th-th-that’s unlike C-C-C-Chaos.” Fastpass said. “H-he-he al-always avo-avoids kidnapping c-ci-civilians.”

Kite caught on quickly and spun to meet Super Dudes eyes. “She means something to you, doesn’t she?”

Craig hesitated before he nodding. “Yes, she does.”

Silence. Everyone seemed stunned -mainly by the fact that Super Dude cared for anyone and was willing to admit it.

Several beats passed before Kite looked away from Super Dude to the rest of the table. “So what’s the plan? Do we have any idea where he might be keeping her?”

Craig shrugged, finally sinking into his seat. “I didn’t find anything about where she might be.”

Kite frowned and thought for several moments. “Could we get ahold of Call Girl? She might could track him down?”

Coon scowled. “To get to Call Girl we’d have to work with the Freedom Pussies, and I am not doing that. I don’t care how much Super Dude cares about this girl.”

Super Dude’s face was impassive, but everyone but Coon noticed the aggressive shift in his posture and how he gripped the marble table hard enough for it to crack around his fingers.

“We will do whatever it takes to get her back.” Super Dudes voice was dangerously quiet and even. “And if you don’t help us, Coon, I won’t hesitate to break every fucking bone in your body.”

Everyone seemed taken aback from the threat, that sounded way too much like a legitimate threat. Everyone at the table had threatened Coon at one point or another, but no one had ever meant it until right now.

Coon actually looked put off, or even possibly scared as he thought for several long moments. “Fine, contact the Freedom Pals.”

~*~

A scream was wrenched from your throat as Butters shocked you again, your body contorting in pain as salty tears ran down your cheeks.

Butters had been sure to assail you with shocks with not enough voltage to kill you, but enough to _hurt._ There were burns all over your body from where his hands had injected you with lightning.

Butters tsk’d and leaned down to your ear. “If you just tell me who Super Dude is this will be over, (Y/N). I don’t like hurting you.”

You looked up at him and glared through your tears, a snarl pulling at your lips. “You’re crazy! I don’t know who Super Dude is, you fucking psycho!”

Something dangerous and dark flashed in Butters’s gaze as a frown tugged his lips down. You flinched as he brought his hand up to shock you again, but froze when the door behind him opened.

“Professor Chaos.” _General Disarray._

“Yes?” He asked, standing and turning away from you. You relaxed momentarily.

“We have received word that Coon and Friends have allied with the Freedom Pals, Call Girl located us and they are on their way now.”

Butters nodded and thanked his second in command before turning back to you and you tensed under his insane glare.

“Well, (Y/N), I do believe your super friends are coming to save you.” You shook as he lowered down to grab your face, thumb gently running over your cheek. “Wouldn’t want to miss the fun, would you?”

Before you could attempt to figure out what he was rattling about, there was a sharp _zap_ and you fell into darkness.


	6. Chapter 6

Call Girl had led the Freedom Pals and Coon and Friends to a large factory well out of South Park. The factory was large and falling into disrepair and Craig scowled, knowing that you were in there.

“Let’s go.” He snapped as they trekked towards the building.

Even the Freedom Pals had seemed stunned to see Super Dude like this, granted they all had an inkling of an idea of how hard this had to be. It was every heroes nightmare.

Chaos Minions had ambushed them not far from the entrance,but it was easy enough to get them out of the way and Craig stormed into the building, throwing the doors open.

As the other heroes filtered in behind him, lights in the building flashed on and the door slammed shut, effectively knocking Coon out of the doorway and locking several other heroes outside.

Toolshed, one of the ones outside, started trying to get the door open, but it wasn’t budging, no matter what he tried.

A scowl pulled at Craig's lips as he whirled to see who he was left with. Mysterion, Fastpass, Mosquito and Wonder Storm. Craig wanted to be angry that he was forced to be anywhere with Wonder Storm, the two had never quite gotten along, but he couldn’t help but be grateful. A healer could be the key to survival in this situation.

Static crackled loudly and Craig spun to find that a TV on the wall by the door flickered to life. The video was grainy, but there was no mistaking the person in front of the screen.

Professor Chaos grinned at the assembled heroes and let out a dark laugh that echoed through all of the building speakers.

“Well, well, well,” Chaos cooed. “I was afraid you weren’t going to show. Then what would (Y/N) do?”

Craig's lips pulled back in a snarl, he knew Chaos could see him, there were cameras everywhere. 

“Where is she?” Craig's voice shocked even him, it was dark, full of hatred and venom.

Chaos was grinning wickedly. “Oh don’t worry, Super Dude.” Chaos disappeared for a moment before returning and Craig’s stomach dropped.

Chaos held you by your hair, your wrists bloodied from the rope holding your arms and you were as pale as a ghost.

“What did you to do to her?!” Craig roared, the other heroes in the room with him were staring at him but he didn’t care. Chaos laughed jovially as he brought you to stand and lean against his chest while he rested his chin on your shoulder. One of his hands had captured your jaw to force you to look at the camera, while the other snaked around your waist.

“Nothing too terrible.” Chaos cooed as he nuzzled your jaw, making you flinch. Craig's hands curled into tight fists. “Isn’t that right, my dear (Y/N)?”

Your eyes shot to something behind the camera, presumably the screen that Craig and the other heroes were on before your gaze locked back on the camera. The big, (e/c) eyes Craig had fallen so in love with were wide with fear and glistened with unshed tears.

“S...Super Dude…” You stuttered out, your voice weak and pained. Craig’s heart broke as he listened. “P...please…. _run_.”

Chaos’s grin turned into a snarl as he locked a hand over your mouth, you didn’t even fight as you stared at the camera desperately.

Chaos turned to look away from you to the camera, raising his other hand let lightning crackle between his fingers.

“You have ten minutes, Super Dude.” Chaos hissed. “Either you all lay down your weapons and submit to me, or she dies.”

Your eyes widened in panic and you started squirming, Chaos just frowned and pressed his electrified hand to your side.

Craig watched in horror as you arched up, eyes blown wide and tears falling down your (s/c) cheeks before you slumped back against Chaos, body twitching as you stared weakly at the camera before it clicked into darkness.

There was silence as everyone stared at the TV in horror at what they had just witnessed before Craig let out an ear splitting howl of pure, unbridled rage.

_“I will end you Chaos.”_ He roared.

“Super Dude,” Mysterion started, still looking stunned.

Craig whirled around, golden eyes wild and angry. “What?”

Mysterion slipped back into his usual stoicity, but he still looked shaken. “We’ll get her back. Save your strength for Chaos.”

Craig was silent but nodded minutely as Mysterion whirled to look at the other heroes present.

“Fastpass, take the East end and Mosquito take the West, Super Dude, Wonder Storm and I will push forward. We have to figure out where he’s keeping her.” Mysterion barked.

The heroes nodded and Fastpass was gone, nothing but a breeze following behind him, Mosquito was next, shooting into the air and buzzing out of sight.

Craig didn’t even wait, immediately bolting forward with Wonder Storm and Mysterion on his heels.

~*~

You felt sick as you waited, leaned up against a wall in the back of a large room, probably the old main room in the warehouse before it shut down. Butters stood in front of you, completely still   
and silent.

On either side of you were Chaos Minions, and hidden throughout the room were a hundred more.

The room had been cleared of obstacles, obviously prepared for the fight that was coming.

You were shaking as you tried to wriggle your hands, more focused on keeping feeling in them rather than escaping. General Disarray, who had been flanked by Chaos Minions off to your right, seemed to notice and quietly approached Chaos, muttering a few words quietly in his ear.

Chaos waited, considering for a few moments before he nodded and Disarray turned to kneel beside you.

“I’m going to remove the ropes, don’t bother trying to run.” The redhead muttered. You were so exhausted you couldn’t even bring yourself to nod as he cut off the ropes, your arms falling limply at your side.

A quick look at your wrists made you wince, the wounds from trying to escape were deep and raw as blood dribbled down your (s/c) hands and onto the concrete floor.

Disarray frowned, almost looking like he wanted to help, but he stood and returned to his original position between the two minions.

Several minutes passed as feeling slowly began to return to your fingertips and Butters tapped his foot impatiently.

“Three minutes.” He snapped, sending you a look over his shoulder.

You wanted to sink further into the wall, to just disappear from existence, but you couldn’t. You met his gaze with your own exhausted, defeated one.

Those blue eyes seemed to soften for a moment and he looked almost remorseful but it didn’t last long as he snapped to look forward, posture rigid and back into the character of Professor Chaos.

Another long few minutes ticked by and slowly, the icy fingers of dread and terror flooded your veins. Where was Craig? He had to be looking for you! What if he didn’t find you in time?

You winced as a Chaos Minion threw open the door, stumbling into the room. He was bloodied and bruised, looking dazed and afraid.

“They’re coming!” He gasped out as he fell to his knees in pain.

Professor Chaos strode forward to where the man was, his back to you so you couldn’t see his reflection. You saw his arm move, reaching for something in his cloak and then the man was begging, blubbering and sobbing for his life.

You forced down a scream when you heard the gunshot, wincing at the deafening noise. Your ears were ringing and you felt your stomach churn as Professor Chaos stepped away from the now dead Chaos Minion.

You forced yourself to stare at the ground and focus on not throwing up, though hurried footsteps forced your head to snap up as five heroes burst into the room. Your eyes immediately snapped to the familiar blue hoodie with the large red ‘S’ on it and relief flooded through your system.

_Craig._

Craig’s dark golden eyes shot to you and relief flashed in those golden hues, quickly followed by rage as his eyes turned to gaze hatefully at Chaos.

“Let. Her. Go.” Craig snarled, sending a shiver of fear down your spine. He was utterly terrifying.

Professor Chaos laughed, stepping in front of you and blocking your view of Craig, and vice versa. “Submit to me, and she’ll go free.”

A voice you vaguely recognized spoke next. “We will never yield, Chaos!”

_Mysterion._

Since when did Coon and Friends work with the Freedom Pals? Did Craig put them up to this?

Professor Chaos tutted and lifted a hand, electricity crackling between his fingers. The whimper that passed your lips was immediate as you shrunk away.

You could hear Craig growl and Professor Chaos shot you a grin before turning back to the heroes. “Guess we’ll have to settle this the old fashioned way then.”

Super Craig lunged forward with a snarl, aiming for Chaos’s face as the blond dodged. Immediately, Chaos Minions lept from their hiding places and charged the heroes.

You tried to keep your eyes on Craig as you shrunk away from the battle.

Craig was trying to push through the crowd of minions to reach you but every time he got too close, Professor Chaos would sweep in and force him back almost to where he’d started.

You were terrified as you watched, the heroes slowly being overwhelmed by Chaos and his minions. Every time you caught sight of Craig he looked like a wild animal in battle, teeth bared and eyes wild.

You shrieked when the windows far above you burst, two shadows falling from the height and knocking the two minions guarding you to the ground.

You looked up to meet the calm brown of eyes of Call Girl looking down at you in worry. “It’s okay, we’re going to get you out of here.”

She had started to reach for you, when a bolt of lightning struck the area between the two of you, knocking the two of you away from each other.

You were dazed as you forced yourself up, ears ringing loudly and drowning out most of the battle.

Chaos was standing where you had once been, undoubtedly trying to figure out where he went before he was caught off guard by Toolshed who pulled him into a fight.

You scrambled back, looking around for the familiar blue hoodie but you couldn’t catch a glimpse of him in the chaos of the battle.

You grabbed onto the wall and forced yourself to stand, feeling blood running from your ear. That last bolt of lightning must’ve fucked up your ear.

You stumbled when the wall you were leaning on shook as Super Dude flew into it several feet from you.

Your heart dropped at his appearance, his hood had been knocked off to reveal his dark hair, blood was running down his chin from a busted lip and a cut along his forehead had blood pouring into his eyes and soaking his mask.

Chaos advanced on him, his minions keeping the other heroes back so he could take on Super Dude. Chaos’s hand raised, electricity crackling and filling the air with a buzz as he aimed his arm at Craig.

“Say goodbye, Super Dude.” He hissed.

Your feet moved before your brain could process it as you threw yourself in front of the raven-haired boy as Chaos blasted his lightning.

The lightning struck you and a burning agony flooded your body as your mouth opened in a scream before you blacked out.

~*~

 

Craig stared in horror as your limp body dropped to the concrete floor of the building. Your clothes were smouldering and ripped and you twitched violently, the electricity ripping through your body.

Even Chaos was staring at you, stunned. At least, he was watching until Mysterion appeared out of nowhere, knocking him away and back into the throng of bodies.

Craig scrambled closer to you, his eyes widening in horror as he looked down at your lifeless (e/c) eyes that were staring blankly at the ceiling high above you.

“Don’t touch her!”

Craig's head shot up as Wonder Storm landed on your other side, assessing you. “If you touch her you’ll get zapped too.”

Tupperware appeared by your head just as you had finally stopped twitching, his expression grim. “We’ll do everything we can to get her breathing again.”

Craig looked between the two of them. “I’m not leaving her.”

“S-S-Super Dude.” Craigs gaze snapped to Wonder Storms serious hazel eyes. “W-we need you to t-t-trust us, the last thing w-we want for h-h-her is to d-die here.”

Craig hesitated before standing, determination set on his features. “I’ll cover you.”

Tupperware and Wonder Storm immediately got to work with CPR as Craig fought back Chaos Minions, his rage fueling him on to take down every single one that came even remotely too close to you.

He would not give up on you. Punch.

You would survive this. Punch.

You would come home with him. Punch.

He would tell you he loved you. Particularly devastating punch.

Not far from him Mysterion was battling Chaos alone, while Toolshed, Call Girl, Mosquito and Coon took on Disarray.

Fastpass was running through the slowly decreasing crowd of Chaos Minions while the remaining heroes helped take down remaining minions and cover Wonder Storm and Tupperware.

Craigs head snapped around when he heard you cough weakly, his eyes widening as he saw you take several shuddering breaths.

_You were alive._

That was all he needed to take down the rest of the minions, who dropped like flies under his punches. Out the corner of his eye he watched General Disarray finally fall.

All that was left, was Chaos.

Chaos seemed to realize his position as his lips pulled into a dark, hateful snarl, glaring at the heroes that surrounded him.

“It’s over Chaos.” Mysterion said and Chaos’s snarl dropped and turned into a twisted grin.

“It’s never over,” He hummed, reaching into his back pocket. “Chaos will always reign.”

With that final message, Chaos ripped out a remote and pressed one of the glowing buttons.

Explosions rocked the building and the ceiling started to buckle, raining debris on the heroes.

“Good luck, heroes!” Chaos yelled as he disappeared in a blinding flash.

“Everybody out!” Mysterion shouted, snatching up the still breathing General Disarray and disappearing in a cloud of darkness.

Toolshed grabbed onto Callgirl and grapple-hooked out of the window they’d entered through.

Wonder Storm scooped you into his arms as Tupperware grabbed onto him and they shot out of the cracks in the ceiling.

Craig was grabbed by Human Kite and lifted out of the building as Fastpass and Mosquito lifted out the other heroes.

Cop cars, ambulances and fire trucks surrounded the area. Craig caught sight of Wonder Storm handing your unconscious form off to an EMT in blue.

Before he could move Mysterion grabbed his shoulder and Craig froze.

“We’ll take care of this, Super Dude.” Mysterion's voice was quiet and soft, a tone that Craig had never heard him speak in before. “They’ll take her to Hells Pass, get changed and go to her.”

Craig nodded, hurrying to Human Kite and convincing him to get him back to town.


	7. Chapter 7

A faint beeping filled your ears and you grimaced, pain slowly began to fill your body. Your entire being ached like one giant bruise.

Weren’t you supposed to feel nothing when you died? You groaned quietly, forcing your (e/c) eyes open and wincing at the harsh white light.

So where did you wind up? Heaven or hell? A quick look around told you that you were in neither.

Wires poked out at random points in your body and a thin white sheet covered your legs.

Colorful balloons and flowers adorned the room. All emblazoned with something along the lines of ‘get well soon.’

You frowned and moved to sit up, gasping as pain rocked through your abdomen and forced you back against the pillows.

You could hear the heart monitor speed up for a few moments before slowly fading to a normal, steady beeping.

Once the pain subsided, for the most part, you glanced down at your stomach, gently resting a (s/c) hand on it and hissing at the tenderness under the pristine white bandages.

A slight rustling next to you startled you and your gaze fell on a familiar head of messy black hair and a small smile pulled at your lips.

_Craig.  
_  
He was asleep, his head on the side of your bed and propped on his arms.

You gently ran your hand through his dark hair, frowning at its greasiness. Then you noticed the dark circles under his eyes, and even while he was asleep he looked utterly exhausted.

Just how long had he been here?

Craig stirred under your gentle touch, leaning into your hand as you stroked his hair. He muttered something that sounded a lot like your name and you smiled gently.

He was alive and safe. That was all that mattered.

After a few more minutes of you gently running your fingers through his hair, he finally started showing signs of waking up.

His golden eyes blinked open, bleary and unfocused as he hummed quietly in contentment. Then his eyes met yours and they went wide, the sleepy haze in them disappearing in an instant.

Craig shot up so fast he knocked the chair he had been sleeping in over. His arms immediately wrapped around you as he clutched you to him, shaking.

“Oh my God, you’re awake!” His voice was frantic and unbelieving. You winced at the pain from the sudden movement but smiled as you let your arms encircle him, ignoring the pain in your body.

Craig was speaking so fast you could barely understand him as he held you.

“Craig.” You whispered and the boy tensed, pulling back to look at you, his beautiful eyes shining with unshed tears. You smiled and gently brought your hand up to lovingly stroke his cheek, running a finger over the fading scratch on his cheek. “We’re okay. Everything’s okay.”

Craig let out a rasping laugh as he took your face in his hands and kissed you. The kiss was raw and full of emotion. When he finally pulled away he rested his forehead against yours, gold eyes staring into (e/c).

“I should be telling you that, you dumbass.” He muttered, a small smile on his lips.

You giggled, wincing slightly at the pain in your abdomen. Craig’s smile pulled down into a concerned frown.

“Take it easy,” he said, releasing you and pushing you to lay back. “You’ve been through a lot and your body is still trying to recover.”

You nodded, taking his hand in yours and gently running your thumb over his knuckles.

“How long have I been out? What happened? Chaos…”

Craig frowned. “You’ve been out for five days, medically induced coma or something to make sure your body was able to recuperate from the blast. Chaos escaped, but he’s on the run and has no   
real army any more now that most of the Chaos Minions are either dead or in custody. General Disarray is also in custody and under heavy police surveillance.”

You frowned, eyes locked on your hands. The idea that Chaos could be out there right now…. it was not a comforting thought.

Craig’s look softened as he ran a hand through your hair. “Hey, look at me.”

You looked up and he smiled at you.

“You’re safe. I’m never going to let him anywhere near you again.” His smile turned into a small smirk. “And if it helps, you’ve basically got all of the Freedom Pals and Coon and Friends as your personal bodyguards until Chaos is caught.”

You couldn’t help the grin. “Great, in addition to my already paranoid boyfriend.”

Craig chuckled and kissed your forehead, his grip on your hand tightening.

“I will never let anyone hurt you ever again. I’m moving you in with me after you get rested up so I can keep you safe.”

You raised an eyebrow and grinned teasingly. “Is that your only reason for wanting me to move in with you?”

Craig smirked and brought your hand up to kiss the knuckles. “Well, it’s the main reason. Though I certainly don’t have a problem with the most gorgeous woman in town staying in my apartment.”

You blushed lightly and rolled your eyes. “Flattery will get you nowhere, Tucker.”

“I know.” He said grinning. “But it never hurts.”

The two of you fell into a comfortable silence, just basking in the presence of one another and the knowledge that you both we're alive and safe.

The doctor came in after a little while to check your injuries and Craig, though he’d been asked to leave, hovered protectively nearby.

You grimaced when you saw the wound. A long, bright red and blistering scar snaked across your stomach and chest.

Craig looked troubled at the sight of the scar, obviously angry and more than a little remorseful.

You smiled. “At least now I’ll have some kick-ass scars.”

Craig didn’t seem overly thrilled but he did seem to relax just a bit.

When the doctor finally left Craig came to sit back on the bed beside you, holding you gently to his chest as he kissed your face.

You couldn’t help your giggle. “I should die more often if it makes you _this_ affectionate.” You teased and Craig frowned.

“Too soon, (Y/L/N).” He responded before placing a lingering kiss on your lips.

When he pulled back he stared down at you, something intense in his gaze made you squirm.

“Craig? What’s wrong?” You asked, gently cupping his cheek. Craig looked conflicted for a second, like he wanted to speak but couldn’t.

After a few long seconds, he seemed to have found the words.

“I love you.” He said, golden eyes staring straight into yours, his voice dripping with emotion. “More than you will ever know.”

You were taken aback, blinking up at the tall boy sitting before you. Craig Tucker confessing his feelings? That certainly was a shocker.

“I know you may not feel the same yet, but I need you to-”

“I love you too, you dumbass.” You said, grinning.

Now it was Craig’s turn to look confused as he looked down at you. You laughed and kissed him, he eagerly responded in kind. His pale hands slowly drug up your arms to your shoulders and neck before finally coming to rest on your cheeks as he kissed you fiercely.

An awkward cough from the doorway made you jump, and you quickly broke the kiss to find the rest of Craig’s gang in the doorway. Clyde was grinning, Token had decided the floor was extremely interesting, and Tweek looked mildly uncomfortable as he twitched.

Craig huffed and kissed your forehead before turning to his friends and crossing his arms. “You guys have the _worst_ timing.”


	8. Chapter 8: Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This officially marks the end of this lovely little story! I hope you all enjoyed it!

It had been two years since that fight with Professor Chaos, and you never saw Butters again. When you went to the registrar to do a little bit of research to help track him down, you discovered he was never even enrolled at SPU in the first place!

General Disarray had remained in prison, just beginning his life sentence in maximum security.

Craig had begun to relax and was finally starting to patrol again after taking a while off to take care of you and get you back into normal life.

You, meanwhile, had graduated from SPU with honors and had enrolled in the journalism masters program which kept you super busy as you worked with the local paper.

You and Craig discussed moving away from South Park after you finished out your final semester of grad school, getting somewhere far away where you both could start over. Craig could stop being a hero for a while and just focus on your lives together.

D.C. had been the place the two of you kept mentioning, it was a great place to be for a budding journalist. Though nothing was set in stone yet.

So, for the time being, you and Craig lived together in his small apartment in downtown South Park. It was, honestly, kind of perfect. Craig was perfect.

You smiled as you reflected, your mind briefly taken off the paper you had been writing for your class.

You looked up as the man in question walked through the door, a grin on his lips as he leaned down and gave you a quick peck on the lips.

“How’s the most beautiful woman on the planet today?” He asked as he flopped down on the bed beside you.

You grinned. “I don’t know, how are you doing, Craig?”

Craig frowned and playfully swatted at your arm and you laughed. “You know you love me, Tucker.”

Craig rolled his eyes as he sat up. “Do I though?”

As a way of answering him, you pulled him into a loving kiss that left the both of you panting when you finally pulled away. Craig hummed quietly as he rested his forehead against yours, staring lovingly down at you.

“What are you thinking?” You asked quietly, smiling up at him.

“Thinking we have reservations tonight at seven and that we should probably get ready.”

You laughed quietly and leaned up to place a quick kiss on his lips before reluctantly pulling away from his embrace, taking his hand and pulling him towards your shared bedroom. 

“C’mon then, let’s get moving so we can get there on time.”

The restaurant that would host your date tonight was a new one and by far the fanciest in town, it had just been finished a few weeks prior and had already gained quite the reputation in South Park as the best place in town. You’d been dying to try it, and Craig was more than happy to pull a few strings to get a reservation.

You had changed into a (f/c) knee-length dress with a pretty diamond necklace Craig had gotten you on your birthday. Craig was wearing a dashing black suit that you had to stop yourself from drooling over.

Even now as the two of you sat at your table you couldn’t stop staring at him over the top of your menu, just utterly lost for words at how lucky you were to be with the man you’d admired for so long.  
Craig must’ve felt your stare and glanced up from his menu, grinning teasingly at you as his golden eyes gleamed. “See you something you like, beautiful?”

You chuckled, setting your menu down. “Oh, I see a few things that look rather...delicious.”  
Craig's grin widened but before he could get out a comeback, a man in black slacks and crisp white button-down shirt sidled up to your table. “Are the two of you ready to order?”

You glanced at your date out of the corner of your eye before quickly spouting out your choice, Craig did the same.

The two of you laughed and joked over drinks before the food arrived, and even then you found yourselves teasing each other around mouthfuls of food.

When you’d finally placed your silverware down you were stuffed and smiling happily as you leaned back in your chair.

The waiter came by and quickly grabbed up your plates before disappearing once again, leaving the two of you alone.

A comfortable silence fell between the two of you for a few moments before Craig stood and offered his hand to you. “I heard the balcony has a pretty good view, wanna check it out?”

You nodded and took his hand, allowing him to lead you across the dining room and out a set of doors and onto an open-air balcony with a gorgeous view of the mountains surrounding South Park.

You were stunned by the beauty and slowly wandered over to the edge, leaning on the railing as you stared out at the beautiful scenery.

“You know, this place is actually beautiful if you find the right angles.” You said turning to look beside you where you expected your lover to be. Except he wasn’t.

You frowned and turned, only to find Craig kneeling behind you with a small black velvet box in his hand.

You felt a hot blush rise to your cheeks as your hands flew to your mouth. Craig grinned and lifted the box.

“I know usually guys have these huge speeches prepared, but we both know I’m not that kinda guy.” He said, popping open the box to reveal a dazzling (f/c) diamond ring. “So, (Y/N) (Y/L/N), will you marry me?”


End file.
